a story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious
a book, literary work, etc., containing such a story,
the art, technique, or process of narrating, or of telling a story.”
WHAT IS A STORY?
an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment.
an account of past events in someone’s life or in the development of something.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A NARRATIVE AND A STORY:
If using the definition of ‘story’ from the dictionary as “an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment,” then the narrative is the choice of which events to relate and in what order. The narrative is how we decide to tell a story as we apply different narratives to the same story all the time which changes the perspective, which ultimately could lead to a change the view of the story.
JERSEY CHANNEL ISLANDS:
Jersey is located in the Channel Islands, between England and France, is known as the biggest of the islands. It is becoming a self-governing dependency of the United Kingdom, with a mix of British and French cultures, the main attractions for visiting Jersey are the beaches, cliffside walking trails, inland valleys and historic castles.
STORY:What is your story? Describe in:
3 words:
Daytrip in St. Malo
A sentence
A group of photography students exploring the highlights of the St. Malo old town.
A paragraph
Sailing through the channel islands to St. Malo Hautlieu photography students had arrived to take pictures of the old town for their photography projects. Being greeted by the tourist attractions, including the amazing food and weather they explored the streets and beach. Due to the wonderful weather many people civilians that live in St. Malo were found wondering the streets and tanning on the beach creating incredible portraiture work while also taking landscapes of the architecture of the town.
NARRATIVE:how will you tell your story?
Images > St Malo street photographs and AI generated images in relation to theme of NOSTALGIA…
Archives > Old photos of St Malo or any found/ stock imagery…
‘The process of manipulation starts as soon as we frame a person, a landscape, an object or a scene with our cameras’
‘What are the differences between reality and witness and points of view?’
‘And what does a real photograph look like/Is it something you can see on a screen and alter?’
ESSAY:
Hypothesis: Photography and Truth: Can a photograph lie?
‘What are the differences between reality and witness and points of view?’ Susan Bright in her article ‘Is it Real?’ comments on the accuracy and truth in photography, and how it can be altered because after all isn’t a photograph proof in itself?
Louis Dagueterre was a French painter and physicist who invented the first practical process of photography, known as the daguerreotype. The daguerreotype is a direct-positive process, creating a highly detailed image on a sheet of copper plate with a thin coat of silver without the use of a negative. The invention of the daguerreotype posed as a threat to traditional artforms such as painting and drawing, considering it was the first widely used photography process. Furthermore this process was the first ever successfully refined process that created an exact replica of an image reflected into a camera, in which painters had less domination in the work of portraits. As photography has evolved so has technology, as cameras have evolved and the process of developing image is slowly becoming non-existent as now we are able to see the images immediately after they are taken, without having to process them through a darkroom. Technology has severely advanced in such way that artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is able to generate images with a prompt and create life-like images. AI has become has become a significant part in everyday life, and the benefits it has created for the human population, it has become a device humankind are relying on such as google, voice recognition, and generative AI however have we really thought about the consequences and the danger AI has presented us with? AI becomes more intelligent with every resource it collects which become a danger to humanity with what AI will be able to accomplish in the future.
It is assumed that photography before the digital age could not be manipulated however by using different chemicals in the developing process you would be able to alter the image. An example in how photographers would alter an image by the process of Pictorialism. Pictorialism is an international aesthetic movement that characterised photography between 1890 and 1914 approximately, various techniques were used to produce these images: important manipulations in the darkroom, special filters (including soft-focus), unusual treatments during development, use of special papers. My historical case study, being ‘Robert Capa, Death of a Loyalist Soldier; does not concern manipulation specifically within the image, although its circumstances are certainly hard to untangle. Allegedly this image was taken in 1936 on the battlefields of the Spanish Civil War, in which it is presenting a man dramatically falling to his death. Presumedly it is said he suffered with a fatal gunshot wound, however no wound is visible in the photograph. For years, research was done into the casualty records from September 5th, at the Battle of Cerro Muriano, in hopes of obtaining details about the man allegedly dying in the image. However, it later discovered that Capa’s image was staged and did not in fact capture the moment of death. ‘The creation of an image can shift fluently from a performative or theatrical act’ this quote by Max Pinckers successfully supports the idea that photography can be staged through a ‘theatrical act.’ Capa’s image supports Pinckers statement as he staged his photograph and made it look like a man had suffered a fatal gunshot wound. By creating this fantasy people had indulged in his performance believing that the man had died however many years later we discovered it was a performance created by Capa which leads to the ultimate question are all photographs a lie? and can they be trusted?
‘You’re going to have truth, and you’re going to have reality, and reality’s going to be a mixture of truth, hallucinations.’ Photography is a way for artists to express themselves, therefore there is no right or wrong. AI has become a way to create extraordinary images that would not be able to be replicated in the real world. My case study ‘Philip Toledano > Trump as a poor man’ shows a different perception of reality, if Trump hadn’t had a gilded life of privilege handed to him what would he look like? Digitally you are able to alter the image through using image manipulation software, such as Photoshop. There are also AI softwares that have been created to produce images that look ‘real’, but are in fact a digital construct, these are constructed by artificial intelligence. Softwares like this include; DreamStudio, Midjourney or DALL E 2, these softwares would create images like the case study by Toledano. The systems generate images by prompts and information they are able to gather from the internet.
In conclusion, I think that both images portray the importance of context and external factors in viewing photography, yet they also differ in their methods of concealment of the truth ‘the process of manipulation starts as soon as we frame a person, a landscape, an object or a scene with our cameras.’ Therefore ultimately photography is not a lie yet is not complete truth.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Bright, Susan (2019) Is it Real? in Photography Decoded. London: Octopus Publishing Group Ltd
This image I turned black and white in order to create this vintage nostalgic feeling. Due to the direct mode of address (with the women looking directly at the camera) it made the image more powerful, as it gives a sense she is looking directly to the audience. The frown she gives in the image shows she’s uncomfortable yet the way she positioned her body with this facial expression created uncanny image which gives this ominous aura. Furthermore that black and white could connote that idea she feel behind a camera, so therefore even though she felt uncomfortable with the image it shows some level of authenticity.
EDIT TWO:
This image is simple, yet shows the touristic post cards of St Malo which clearly states where the images were taken. This image remained in colour as the lively colours created a playful image and shows the colours of St. Malo. Here I slightly decreased the exposure in order to make the colours more visible while also heightening the contrast it so that the colours are more vibrant.
EDIT THREE:
In this image I was able to capture an elderly lady between the tunnel. This created a frame in frame, and makes the woman the main subject. In the editing process I added a vintage filter, this is so the subject has a connection with the photograph. To further create this image in a vintage look I increased the grain and the texture so it had a more older and rusty look.
Bresson developed a strong fascination with painting early on, and particularly with Surrealism. This lead to his passion for photography. He was also a photo journalist where he documented some very famous events, such as Gandhi’s funeral, china and even the liberation of Paris. His influence was through surrealism, and decided to make a photobook called “The Decisive Moment” which would define photography itself and be one of his most famous projects.
His photobook, ‘The Decisive Moment‘, is one of the most famous of its kind and explored his mastery of candid street photography.
The Decisive Moment – Henri Cartier-Bresson
The photographic master Henri Cartier-Bresson made some key observations about photography, translated as “the decisive moment” which is often (incorrectly) characterized as: “capturing an event that is ephemeral and spontaneous, where the image represents the essence of the event itself.
The book ‘The decisive moment’ expresses Bresson beliefs about the ‘decisive moment’ there is in every photograph a individual takes.
AWARDS HE BRESSON HAS RECIEVED:
1986 Novecento Premio
1981 Grand Prix National de la Photographie
1975 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie
1975 Culture Prize
1964 Overseas Press Club of America Award
1960 Overseas Press Club of America Award
1959 Prix de la Société Française de Photographie
1954 Overseas Press Club of America Award
1953 A.S.M.P. Award
1948 Overseas Press Club of America Award
PHOTO ANALYSIS:
China Breaking Free Of It’s Past
Cartier-Bresson uses photography to express news and document what is going on in the world. In this particular image you are able to see a young girl performing child labour and significantly struggling, even with the help of a young boy. However due to the girl being the main focus, as she is spread across the image, challenging the rule of thirds Cartier-Bresson is clearly documenting the force of child labour, especially the female sex.
Emotional Response:
This image shows the hardship of the Chinese Civil War and how it affected the labour that children went through. In this image you see a young girl is an awkward and painful position trying to drag some produce, this creates a melancholy picture and creates sympathy.
Visual – what we can see in the image
In the image there is a young girl carrying a load of products, she is across the whole landscape, as she is the main focus of the image. She has a rope across her shoulder which seems to cause her pain, this image could also be a metaphor for the children having ‘the weight of the world’ on her shoulders as the kids now how to provide for the families.
Contextual – who, when, where etc.. the story, background, impact
In November 1948, the great photographer went to shoot ‘the last days of Beijing’. He returned to China in 1958 to capture the results of the Maoist revolution. Images from both visits are brought together for the first time in an exhibition in Paris.
I intend to use Cartier-Bresson work as inspiration for my St. Malo photoshoot. In his street photography he seems to have a variation between close-ups (where the individual knows the picture is being taken) and some long distance (where the individual could be unaware). In my photoshoot I will take long distance shots, and try and capture small intimate moments of people.
Artist & photographer Will Lakeman said of the upcoming exhibition “I’m really excited for people to see this show, which I now realise I’ve been trying to make for most of my adult life. I have a really intense interest in a specific era of Fort Regent’s history – the funfair and swimming pool – but I have hardly any photos of myself there. I had to try and recreate my memories, and the more I tried the stranger the results became. The show involves photographs, reconstructions made with Artificial Intelligence, a soundscape, found objects and even some smells. Although it’s rooted in “the Fort” I tried to capture something universal in the experience of being a child, beyond excited to go to the leisure centre. I hope it says something to everybody.‘
The exhibition ‘PLAYTIME’ created by Lakeman is the recreation of the strange hold that childhood spaces have on our adult memories. This specific exhibition is centred around his childhood memories of fort regent.
PLAYTIME, Will Lakeman
Will Lakeman: ‘Through my work I try and communicate something of the weird, vivid sensations of my dreams and nightmares. I dream inside a world of intense colour and strange symbolism, but I also daydream in my waking hours as I drift around the place. I also experience synaesthetic hallucinations where my sensed become confused.’
Lakeman is a photographer who has nurtured an obsessive interest in ‘the Fort’, and has spent his adult life revisiting weird dreams of this iconic building and its heyday in the early 1990s.
The reason that this exhibition relates to the project of Nostalgia is because it invites the question of whether things are really as we remember or, as the term suggests, whether we cut out any negative aspects of the memory. Additionally, the fragmented and distorted nature of the AI pieces relates to the same imagery of our memories and dreams, where everything is displaced and misshapen.
Lakeman had also incorporated aspects of sound and smell to the exhibition to attempt to evoke the universal memories in any visitor’s inner child; the sharp smell of chlorine that immediately invites rich memories of the warm haze that accompanied it, the sound of children screaming and laughing in delight, even the comforting scent of buttered popcorn. As a very sensory-oriented person, Lakeman feels that this was the best way to recreate his memories as an experience that could be relived by any visitor.
Lakeman’s images generated by AI connote a fantasy world, a fantasia. The use of his creativity and creating this illusion almost gives an escapism of reality. Audience that have experienced any of their childhood in fort regent would see this hyperbole fantasy that Lakeman has created. I overall really enjoy Lakeman’s AI generated photography as each image is designed to his own memories and the way and individual remembers their memories, each photograph is unique. It is interesting to see how he was able to transform a old and rather empty space and fill it with impossibly magical landscapes and fantasy imaginings.
What we know as feeling nostalgic, a warm positive feeling can also reflect which can induce sadness if you’re yearning for the past, and upset that the times you’re thinking of no longer exist, this can cause an individual to take it as an opportunity to reimagine or conceal. By recollecting these positive memories this could lead an individual to erase the negative parts for the memory in order to align with the stereotypical happy memories of the past.
WHAT CAN TRIGGER NOSTALGIA?
FOOD
FAMILY AND FREINDS
PHOTOS
SCENT
MUSIC
PLACES
MEDIA
MOVIES/TV COMMERCIALS
NOSTALGIA IN PHOTOGRAPHY
Becoming an artist/photographer you are able to interpret art in your own way, this is why each individual artwork has a unique style to each artistic. Since nostalgia is such an abstract topic artists are able to be inspired by anything, the positive or the negative, and express it in a way that is distinctive to one-self.
For my final pieces I mounted my images either on foam board or I created a window mount. For my first piece it was an A5 image with no other images to follow along with, therefore I mounted the image on some foam board to create a 3D allusion that the image is coming towards you. Then I have mounted that on some black cardboard in order for the image to look more professional. For the second piece I created a small window mount, I could have included that in the three piece however this image works better individually and you are able to see the photograph for itself. On my third final piece I decided to put the A3 image and my A5 image on the same card in order to have some connection to the photoshoot. I think both images worked together however I believe to improve this outcome I could of had two images on either side of the A3 image in order to make it look visually more appealing. My final piece was the most challenging piece. I window mounted three images on black card. Although the images were different colours I believe they had a narrative to them so they were all able to work together as a final piece. Even though this was the most challenging I believe that the final piece is my strongest one.
WHY CHOOSE THE SUBJECT ‘FEMININITY’ FOR THE IDENTITY PROJECT?
I chose to take my final pictures inspired by Justine Kurland’s ‘Girl Pictures’ and femininity. The binary opposition of stereotypical feminine and masculine has become a topic that everyone has different views on. My intention was to show the stereotypical view of women; as delicate, soft and living in a world of utopia. However even that stereotypes are changing globally, their is still the dominant ideology of how women should behave and what values they should hold.
HOW DID I PLAN THIS PROJECT?
To be able to do the photoshoot in the style of Kurland I needed to plan a day in which the weather was going to be bright and cloudless. I took pictures of teenage girls to fit with the stereotypical view in how ‘teenage girls’ should ‘behave’. The main focus in this shoot is reinforce this idea that stereotypes need to be broken, and perhaps what is shown on exterior is not necessarily what the truth is interiorly.
PHOTOSHOOT AND EDITING:
I took these pictures at Howard Davis Park. This is due to the fact is having aesthetic scenery which shows similarity in Kurland’s work, furthermore the flowers are usually connotation of feminine, delicate, and joyfulness. My final images had a soft tone, but bright where you could see all the colours within the frame. Even though most of the colours were muted, there were occasionally a hint of vibrant colours coming through. During my editing process in Lightroom Classic I slightly turned down the exposure to create this sharp detailed image, however I increased the highlights and the colours in order to create a more colourful, and light image.
WHAT WENT WRONG IN THIS PROJECT?
During this identity project it was difficult to find people comfortable in the camera and able to take the photoshoot on the same day. However taking more images in different locations would give a variety of images to choose from, perhaps even different colour clothing. Furthermore a way to improve my project would be to take the same photoshoot but weaken the stereotype but presenting women in a masculine manner; wearing ‘masculine’ clothes, and doing actives that are not suitable for women but also seen as more ‘masculine’.
FINAL DIGITAL PIECES:
I am planning on creating this triptych using the images I took in the photography studio with Phoebe. These pictures are from the same shoot which links them together, however the different colours created variety, yet due to a similar colour palettes they are able to collaborate nicely.
The Landscape image will be printed A3 whereas the other one will be printed A5. I will mount them both on foam board and then mount them on white cardboard.
EVALUATION OF WHOLE LANDSCAPE PROJECT:
Reflecting on my Portraiture unit I believe there are some improvements made from my landscape project. My blog posts have remained consistent however they have improved by adding more context and adding theory when necessary. My blog posts have continued to include hyperlinks and images that are relevant to post. Planning my photoshoots has become easier however most have been taken in the Hautlieu photography studio, in which it is easily accessible. Taking images for Environmental Portraiture was the most challenging part in this project, as many people did not like having their face in front of a camera which created issues for my photoshoot and therefore not many images were taking. However for my identity feminine photoshoot I was easily able to plan and take my photoshoot. This project I was more organised then the Landscape project which created a more relaxed environment in which I felt comfortable working in. Nevertheless when sending my picture to be printed professionally I sent less then I thought which resulted in less analogue pieces. In my next project I will created more images and organise myself so I will finish with more images I will be able to print and create more analogue pieces.
